Please do not apologize for your ignorance. There is only one reason for online forums to exist and that is to help other people with their questions and problems. There is a large amount of lurkers (people who read but do not register and ask questions) on every forum and if you have a question there are probably dozens of other people with the same question but are too shy to ask. Don't worry about us, no one is forcing us to read your post or answer your post.

As far as your question goes I don't have the foggiest clue but I am sure we have some people here that can answer your question. And welcome to the forum.

1/2 ton trucks are generally not recommended for campers. Most 3/4 ton trucks are not recommended either.Since you want a bathroom/shower, you will be looking at 2000lbs., or more.Take a look at this site, http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/truck-campers-buyers-guide/. You will see a few pop ups that scale under 2000lbs., but most don't have a bath room, black or grey water tanks and are minimal in every way.

My BIL has an 825 on his new 3/4 ton Dodge. Loaded up he is at 3000lbs, a little under 1000lbs overweight and he says it is a white knuckle experience.Most half tons will have a payload of 1500lbs, there are few that have a 2000lb payload.Lance says the wet weight of an 825 is 2150lbs, but that doesn't include any food, pots, pans, bedding etc., and doesn't include what you stowed away in your truck.TCM states the weight as 2722 lbs, which is fairly accurate.1/2 tons and campers do not go together, most 3/4 tons are heavily overloaded.You will be hard pressed to find a pop up within weight.A pop up will haul better(even if overweight), as pop ups are usually about the height of the truck roof.The 825 will be much taller(about 9.5'), the weak 1/2 ton suspension will not like that.Most first time buyers are unpleasantly surprised by the fact that they need a much larger truck to comfortably haul a camper, even a pop up.

I pulled a bumper hitch travel trailer for many years with half ton 4 x 4 pickups. Would highly recommend a trailer over a truck camper. They are high off the ground, a pain to put in and out, and the truck is top heavy at best. To each his own. This is my opinion Your wife will be much happier. Trust me.

You need to get out and look at campers that will suit your needs, keeping in mind that newcomers are nearly always overly optimistic about how small a space they can live in. Having done that, note the weights of those campers and consider the size truck needed for them.

If you are only contemplating short trips, e.g. a weekend in the mountains, a bit of inconvenience may well be trivial, but for longer trips they can become really irritating.

One thing to keep in mind is that recent (last 2-3 years) so called 1/2 ton pickups are being rated to carry more and more weight, they are also getting physically bigger. All one needs to do is look at a current new 1/2 ton pickup sitting side by side with one from 15-20 years ago to see how much more a beast the latest 1/2 ton trucks really are. A 2017 Ford F150 with the heavy duty option has a max payload capacity of 3270, and the base F150 has a capacity of 2,210 pounds see http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?bodystyle=Truck&make=Ford&model=F-150&year=2017 . Which mean a current F150 with the HD option has more payload capacity than my old 2000 model SuperDuty F250, which itself had more capacity than the proceeding non SuperDuty models (1999.5 was the introduction of the beefed up SuperDuty body style)

I paid a 1/4 price for a 5 yr old 1 ton and decent amount of mileage. But it was also a crew cab long bed fx4 pkg and lariat trim. Considering what I got, Id recommend others to look for used. Unless you NEED brand new, the money you saved and got more truck is worth it.

Advertised Carrying capacity can be misleading. The headline may say up to 7,000 lbs. This is referring to a gas powered, regular cab, DRW, 4X2 ... not the diesel, crew cab, 4X4, DRW. Each of those very desirable features add weight to the vehicle and reduce the weight you can carry ...

I want to have these features for the torque, handling, and extra passengers... however ... The multiple slide TC that weighs in at 4600 lbs dry weight is going to be over the carrying capacity of the crew cab diesel with the extra people, gear, water, and supplies added.

The numbers don't lie. Be sure to be honest about weight attributes ... Your full 30 gallon fresh water tank will be about 240 lbs. My TC to Buy list shrank when I pulled out the calculator and estimated a trip with the grandkids. So, good luck in your search ...

One thing to keep in mind is that recent (last 2-3 years) so called 1/2 ton pickups are being rated to carry more and more weight, they are also getting physically bigger. All one needs to do is look at a current new 1/2 ton pickup sitting side by side with one from 15-20 years ago to see how much more a beast the latest 1/2 ton trucks really are. A 2017 Ford F150 with the heavy duty option has a max payload capacity of 3270, and the base F150 has a capacity of 2,210 pounds see http://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?bodystyle=Truck&make=Ford&model=F-150&year=2017 . Which mean a current F150 with the HD option has more payload capacity than my old 2000 model SuperDuty F250, which itself had more capacity than the proceeding non SuperDuty models (1999.5 was the introduction of the beefed up SuperDuty body style)

But if you put lipstick on a pig it is still a pig. Every year the pickup truck manufacturers make their pickups look even nastier and meaner than the year before. The front end of a half ton with it's massive Mack truck/ Norelco shaver front end, jacked up suspension and huge tires looks like it could pull the Space Shuttle. But the problem is can it stop the load, can it be safe, can it handle cross winds, and will every thing wear out prematurely due to being overloaded? Couple this with salesmen that would lie to sell a vehicle to their own mother keep claiming this truck can pull anything. It can, just not safely. But trying to convince the owner of a 1/2 ton of this is impossible.

I would highly suggest you visit this website and read this article about how to choose the right truck camper. It is very eye-opening, especially for newbies. My hubby and I are very interested in a TC, but have been hesitant because all the models we like require a one ton dually truck. The ones that will work with a 3/4 ton truck aren't much to our liking. It really helps to know what EVERYTHING will weigh, not just the camper. And it is difficult to get sales people to give you the true payload of the truck. Do your homework and don't jump in to anything quickly. We've discovered it would be better to get a gently used heavy-duty truck that has already taken the depreciation hit than buy brand new.

I would highly suggest you visit this website and read this article about how to choose the right truck camper. It is very eye-opening, especially for newbies. My hubby and I are very interested in a TC, but have been hesitant because all the models we like require a one ton dually truck. The ones that will work with a 3/4 ton truck aren't much to our liking. It really helps to know what EVERYTHING will weigh, not just the camper. And it is difficult to get sales people to give you the true payload of the truck. Do your homework and don't jump in to anything quickly. We've discovered it would be better to get a gently used heavy-duty truck that has already taken the depreciation hit than buy brand new.

payload should be on a sticker on the drivers side door...unless its older. Also called cargo carrying capacity or ccc.

Yes, that's true, but getting a car dealer to TELL you this info is near impossible when you're on the phone making an inquiry. We're not ready to pound the pavement and look at trucks in-person yet. We're still in the planning & research stage, trying to determine what is going to work for us.

I'm beginning to conclude it would be easier to find the truck camper we love and then buy the truck that suits it, rather than try to settle for something less than ideal just because of the truck. We looked at a few Arctic Fox TCs in-person when we rented a Class C for a recent road trip. While researching, my hubby was opposed to getting a TC that required a dually. After seeing how roomy and nice the TCs were (like the Arctic Fox 1150 or the Adventurer 1200), he has begun to soften on the idea of getting the one-ton dually now. We'll see what happens!

Sorry to hijack your thread, OP. Back to the topic...

OP, have you researched pop-ups vs. hard side TCs? I know the pop-ups are lighter and would be better suited for a 1/2 ton.